Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve

Just an hour out of Cape Town at the southern tip of Africa, lies an area of such natural beauty and floral diversity as to be recognized as perhaps world's greatest biodiversity hot-spot. Size for size, the 100,000 hectare UNESCO designated Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve is home to the most complex biodiversity on our planet with more than 1,880 different plant species ... the next richest is the South American rainforest with just 420 species per 10,000 square kilometers!

Biosphere reserves are 'new concept' reserves: no fences to keep 'people' out and 'nature' in. It is the commitment of local communities, farmers, conservation agencies and local government that protects the magnificent landscapes and unique biodiversity.

The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve begins in the Atlantic Ocean, 7.5 km off a rugged, rocky shore interspersed by glorious, golden sandy beaches. A zig-zag ribbon of narrow coastal plain is squeezed between the ocean and huge sandstone mountains. Contorted by their tumultuous birth some 300 million years ago, these awesome folded mountains and highland valleys are home to the more than 1,880 different species of plants. Seventy seven (77) species within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve occur nowhere else on earth. To put this in perspective, the whole of the UK has just twenty two (22) endemics.

Explore nature at its best.

The biosphere reserve is a celebration of ever changing vistas – from magnificent white beaches and wild rocky shores, sunsets over False Bay and rugged mountains rising from narrow coastal plains, to rose-edged vineyards and orchards in pockets of fertile soils in the highlands. Its spectacular seascapes and landscapes – and the richness of its flora and fauna – attracts people with a love of nature. Many are visitors and holidaymakers with the number of residents and property owners growing each year.

This web site seeks to illustrate to people why the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve (KBR) is such a special place: why it is vital to the future of its fynbos heritage to strive to become a world role model for conservation and sustainable living while also meeting the needs and aspirations of the communities that call it home.